Iconic Haribo-Themed Water Tank Makes Top 12 in 2023 Tank of the Year Competition

Among this year’s entrants in Tnemec’s annual “Tank of the Year” competition, a piece of Pleasant Prairie, WI history stood out among the rest, ultimately earning its place as one of the top 12 finalists. Pleasant Prairie is home to the first North American Haribo factory, a popular producer of gums and jellies, liquorice, and fruity chews, first founded in 1920.

Muralist Eric Henn worked on the 121-foot tank tower, adorning its surface with Haribo’s beloved Goldbears. 11-foot tall gummy bears in 5 bright, custom colors embellish the stem of the tower. The tower tank also features the iconic Goldbear mascots, measuring to 23-feet tall along the base of the tank.



“It brings a wonderful splash of color right off the interstate,” said Sarah Howard, the executive director of Visit Pleasant Prairie. “People are genuinely really excited and there is absolutely a hometown pride to this that we are absolutely celebrating.”

The gummy bear-themed water tank was coated in Tnemec’s Series 700 Hydroflon, an FEVE-based fluoropolymer. Utilizing Lumiflon FEVE resin technology, Hydroflon offers a plethora of benefits to any surface application. This industry-leading fluoropolymer maintains the structural integrity of a coatings system, protecting it against UV radiation, moisture, and salt, among other elemental deterrents. Its hyper-durability and excellent color and gloss retention allow the pristine condition of a coatings system to remain intact for decades, ideal for a vibrant, hyper-visible structure like Pleasant Prairie’s Haribo water tower tank.



“Overall, our team at Tnemec was blown away not only by the number of entries in this year’s Tank of the Year contest but also by all of the innovative and creative designs in this year’s pool of candidate tanks,” said Brian Cheshire, Director of the Water Tank Market for Tenmec, which runs the competition. “The tanks in this year’s contest highlighted the hometown pride and overall ingenuity from many towns all across the United States and Canada.”

Photos courtesy of Eric Henn